


Snake Eyes

by Lunneus



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Gen, I don't know what to tag this, Implied Human Eating, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, nagas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-11
Updated: 2014-03-11
Packaged: 2018-01-15 08:47:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1298758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunneus/pseuds/Lunneus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nagas used to be friendly to humans.<br/>But that was before the Massacre. </p>
<p>Before Aerin found himself in the snakes coils.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snake Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This was a story written for my creative writing class and i decided to post it, so here ya go.

When Aerin awoke, the first thing he noticed was that he was not where he should have been. The last place he recalled being was out in the forest, his mother had asked him to gather some wood for the fireplace before nightfall. He remembered crunching back home through the pleasantly warm woodland with his bundle of wood in tow. The city walls were almost in sight and then nothing. Wherever he was now was humid, and the rocky floor beneath him was wet and cold. Aerin pulled himself into a sitting position with a groan, his wet tunic clinging to his back uncomfortably. All of his muscles felt stiff, possibly from being on the cold ground, and fought against his every movement. He thought to stand, but with how much effort it took him to even maneuver himself upright, he figured it'd be best to stay down for now.

Now that he was alert and semi-focused, Aerin began to really take in his surroundings. Darkness; that was all he could see ahead of him and, with a glance over his shoulder, it was all that was behind him as well. The only thing that provided him even the smallest hint of light were the bits of glowing moss on the walls of what he determined to be a cave. The moss seemed familiar. He'd worked for an herbalist a few months ago but he couldn't recall what the moss was called. Right now, however, he was only thankful that they shone some light on his dark situation. That brief joy was short lived, however.

The air shifted, dropped in temperature and suddenly held the musky stench of a reptile. He then heard something move over the rocks behind him, but when he jerked his body to look, there was only the luminous moss and darkness. Someone, or something, was in there with him and he hoped to the Gods that it wasn't what his mind was screaming at him.

Aerin's body was shaking now. He didn't know if it was from the rapidly cooling air, or the fear of what might be in this cave with him. Perhaps it was both. Either way, it was not the time to contemplate it now. Idly, he reached to his belt for the dagger that he always kept there for emergencies and he was surprised to not find it there. He was certain he brought it with him when he journeyed out for the firewood. As a matter of fact, all of the things he had with him were gone. Now realizing he was defenseless, Aerin needed to get out of this place and back home before whatever was in here decided that it wanted to have a permanent house guest. 

Aerin forced his aching body up from the ground and leaned heavily on the wall for support as he began his slow shuffle to the exit. He only managed a few paces before he tripped over some large object and found himself on the floor of the cave again. He cursed under his breath and, once again, began lifting himself from the damp floor. An amused chuckled froze Aerin once he'd managed to get on to his knees. His breath caught in his throat and his body went stiff as a board. Every moment in this cave seemed to make his suspicions seem more and more like reality. A reality he refused to acknowledge.

Determined, Aerin roughly pushed up from the ground and broke into a sprint. His muscles were screaming in agony as he forced them to take step after step. But it seemed no matter how fast he ran, the chuckle always seemed to be right behind him, on his heels, breathing on his neck. Suddenly something caught his leg, sending him once again to the floor. This time, however, the thing tightened and pulled, scraping his hands and cheek over the rocky floor enough to make them bleed. Whatever was coiled around Aerin's leg was even colder than the wet floor he now lie upon.

“Tsk Tsk, it's very rude to leave unannounced when you've been so graciously invited into someone's home.” 

The smooth, almost amused, voice sent a cold shiver down Aerin's spine. The reality of his situation sunk into his very bones. What he'd been dreading was now reality; he was in a Naga's lair. 

A few years ago, before the Great Massacre, Aerin would have been able to reason with this Naga, explain that he was a friend to them. But not any more. The once peaceful Serpent-people were now hostile to all humans, and to no fault of their own. Their hostility originated from the greed of Malik, the Baron of Aerin's home. Four years ago he sent his soldiers out to steal the Naga's land in what was called the Great Massacre. Now, it was common to find human remains in Naga territory, and Aerin realized that if he didn't get out this situation that he'd just be more remains in the forest.

Cautiously, Aerin lifted and turned his head to look over his shoulder. The shear fear that griped him when he saw a the figure looming over him chased away the burning pain on his face and hands. He couldn't see perfectly, but he could make out the silhouette of a slender humanoid figure who, from the waist down, bore the black and yellow scaled body of a snake. Gripped by fear, dread, and hopelessness, Aerins's mouth moved before he could think.

“P-please... let me go. I-I won't tell anyone you're h-here.” Aerin's voice was a shaky whisper at best and if it were a human he spoke to he would have wondered if they even heard him.

The Naga laughed. “Hah, let you go? But then why would I have wasted the effort in bringing you here?” the Naga uncoiled his tail from Aerin's leg and twined it around Aerin's torso and arms; trapping him. “If I let you go, dear boy, then there would be no one to join me for dinner.”

Dinner. That word echoed in Aerin's ears and pierced his heart like an arrow. It wasn't uncommon to find human remains in suspected Naga territory. They figured it was a waste to kill and leave the corpse to rot.

Scared for his life, Aerin pleaded again, “I-I Promise. I s-swear on the Gods. If you let me go I... I'll bring you livestock every day! My f-family owns a farm. We have all sorts of things! So please...”

The Naga brought Aerin closer and spoke with a cruel, toothy grin. “And let those murderers follow you here? I think not.”

Out of options, Aerin struggled in the serpent-man's coils. He kicked his legs, strained his arms against the scaled muscle trapping then, and twisted his body this way and that. Every time it'd seem that Aerin loosened one of the coils, another would tighten somewhere else. He idly wondered if it was hopeless. All the while, the serpent laughed at the pathetic sight of the boy thrashing uselessly. Finally, after seeming to grow bored of the sight, the Naga tightened his coils like a snake around a desperate mouse. Aerin could feel the breath being forced form his lungs, but kept fighting, kept clawing at the dim possibility of escape even though he knew it was impossible.

The coils around Aerin's body continued to tighten until he could barely take a breath and could almost hear the creaking of his bones. His vision was growing darker in the already black cave and his struggles weaker. Eventually he stopped moving all together, his body felt numb and his mind in a distant fog. It felt as if he were watching the scene from somewhere far away. Somewhere where there was no pain or fear; simply nothingness. Aerin felt one last sudden pressure before his vision and other senses failed him.

The last things he recalled were trees and a pair of predatory hazel eyes.


End file.
